Hot-Rolled Stainless Steel Sheet Advantages
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets have hygienic qualities. Due to that, they are used for food product handling and the profusion of sanitary.
The hot-rolled stainless steel sheets can withstand corrosive environments such as saltwater, engines, petrochemical processing, etc.
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets have excellent resistance to various temperatures. They can withstand high heat and cryogenic environments.
The hot-rolled stainless steel sheets have high strength and impact resistance. They have an excellent strength-to-weight ratio.
Applications
The hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are used for fabricating household goods, auto parts, building materials, bath crock, water heater, marine hardware, indoor pipeline, kitchen equipment, cabinets, boilers, medical instruments, and more. They are also used for other applications, for example in:
- Art installations
- Heavy and industrial engineering
- Architecture
- Yacht & shipbuilding
- Construction of appliances and machinery
- Shop-fitting
- Metal and bridge construction
- Backsplashes
- Container construction for the food and pharmaceutical industry
Materials We Used
TouLian uses a range of stainless steel series to manufacture the hot-rolled stainless steel sheets. We used 200/300/400 stainless steel sheet series such as:
| 400 series | 420J1/401/430 |
| 300 series | 321/304/316L2205/235MN/2507/347H,2520/317L309S/310S/904L |
| 200 series | 201/202 |
Standards
The hot-rolled stainless steel sheets comply with the highest standards such as:
- ASTM A167
- ASTM A240
- EN10088-2-2005
- GB/T3280-2007
- JIS4304-2005
- DIN
- AISI
- And more
Ease of Fabrication
Because of the hot rolling process, the features of stainless steel sheets such as formability, toughness, and ductility are enhanced. That is why the hot-rolled stainless steel sheets have high workability and easy to fabricate. They can be easily:
- Shaped or formed
- Welded
- Stamped
- Drilled
- Bent
- Other machining processes
Hot Rolling Process
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are produced by the hot rolling process. The hot rolling process enhances the ductility, weldability, formability, ductility, and toughness of the stainless steel.
In this process, the stainless steel will be rolled and pressed while being heated above the re-crystallization temperature at around 1100°C. By heating above the re-crystallization temperatures, the mechanical properties are improved and the grains of microstructure are refined. During that point, the stainless steel can be shaped and formed easily.
The process starts with a huge rectangular piece of metal or also called a billet. After that, the metal will be heated and then rolled. The rolled metal is then heated to a high temperature and continually fed at a high speed using the rollers.
Advantages of Hot Rolling Process
- High rate of production
- Makes the stainless steel easier to machine
- Less expensive than the cold rolling process
- Many applications
- Increased malleability
- Gives a rougher surface than the cold rolling process
Surface Finishes
Below are some of the hot-rolled stainless steel sheets’ finishes used for the Australian market.
| Finish | Description |
| BA | A highly reflective and bright finish created by the final annealing in a controlled atmosphere furnace. This finish is applied when used for automotive industry, decorative applications in architecture, and appliances. Usually, BA finish is supplied with a PVC or PE coating as a surface protection. |
| 2B | 2B is a general-purpose and smooth finish. This finishing is obtained when the final light passes through the polished rolls at the mill. |
| No. 4 | No. 4 is a general-purpose ground polished finish that is frequently produced from 2B finishby a service center instead of a manufacturing mill. It is commonly used for applications that need a decorative finish. Also, it is used for kitchen equipment. No. 4 is typically included with a PE coating for surface protection. |
| No. 8 | No. 8 is an extremely reflective and has a mirror finish. It is mostly used for architectural applications. Additionally, it is created from 2B finish by polishing with finer abrasives progressively. After that, a lot of buffing is done. |
| Customer-specific | Other finishes are available for your specific applications or needs. |
Other Surface Treatments
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are suitable for surface finishes or treatments such as:
| mirror-polishing | checkered finish |
| polishing | perfectly mirror polishing |
| brushed finish | grit-polishing |
| sand blasting | PVD/TiN coating |
| embossing | AFP/ETC coating |
| bead-blasting | etching |
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets offer a variety of properties depending on their material grades. Below are some of properties.
- Excellent Hygienic Qualities
- Anti-Oxidation Qualities
- Easy to Fabricate and Good Formability
- Wonderful Aesthetics
- Smooth Surface Finish
- Excellent Resistance to Temperatures, Corrosion, Abrasion, & Impact
- Easy to Sterilize and Clean
- High Toughness
- High Strength-To-Weight Ratio
- High Mechanical and Chemical Resistance
- Cost-effectiveness
At TouLian, we have cutting-edge equipment that enable us to provide a variety of processing services such as:
- waterjet cutting
- laser cutting
- bending
- sawing
- plasma cutting
- welding
- leveling
- flatbed laser
- tube laser
- grinding
- machining
Since the hot-rolled stainless steel sheets need less processing than the cold-rolled stainless steel sheets, hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are less expensive.
The main difference of the cold-rolled and hot-rolled stainless steel sheets is their manufacturing processes.
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are manufactured with heat.
On the other hand, the process of manufacturing cold-rolled stainless steel sheets are done at around room temperatures.
And in terms of physical features, hot-rolled stainless steel sheets have:
- Rounded material edges
- Rough & scaly surface
- Oil-free or dry finish
On the other hand, cold-rolled stainless steel sheets have:
- Sharp edges
- Smooth surface
- Greasy or oily finish
In terms of flexibility, hot-rolled stainless steel sheets are more flexible and malleable since they are produced at high temperatures.
Hot-rolled stainless steel sheets can be formed or cut into any shape easily, unlike cold-rolled stainless steel sheets.
